The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1887-10-13


Illumination of the eyeball sweeps ever and
anon as a scourge, had become blind, sick
people who We're anxious to get we'll, and
troubled people in whose family there was
some one dead or dying, II he had a purse
at all it was empty, or we would have heard
what was done with the contents at the post
mortem, Poor. The pigeon in the dove cote,
the rabbit in its burrow, tle silk worm in its
cocoon, the bee in its hive, is better provided
for, better OFF, better sheltered. Aye, the
brute creation has q home on earth, which
Christ has not
II on windy days the raven
Gambol like dancing skl1,
Not the lc's he loves his haven
On the b som Of the cliH.
II almost with eagle pinon
Der the Alps the channels roam,
Yet he has some small dominion
Which no doubt ho calls his homo,
But the Crown Prince Of all heavenly do
minion had less than the raven, less than the
chamois, for he was homeless, Aye, in the
history of the universe there is no other in.
stance of such coming down, Who can count
the miles from the top Of the throne to the
bottom of the crossi Cleopatra, giving a
banquet TO Antony, took pearl worth
100000 aud dissolved it in vinegar and
swallowed it. But when our Prince, accord
ing to the evangelist, in his last hours took
the vinegar in it had been dissolved all the
pearls OF his heavenly royalty. Down until
there was no other depth for him to touch,
troubled until there was no other harass-
ment to suffer- poor until there was no other
pauperism to torture. Billions of dollars
spent in wars to destroy men, who will fur
nish the statistics of the value of that pre-
cious blood that was shed to save usl rye
know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes
he became poor"
Only those who study this text in two
places can fully reach its power-the Holy
Land of Asia Minor and the holy land Of
heaven. How should like some day to take
a drink out of Jacobs well, and take a sail
on Galilee, and read the sermon on the Mount
while standing on Olivet and see the wilder
ness where Christ was tempted, and be some
afternoon on Calvary at about 3 O'Clock, the
hour at which closed the crucifixion, and
sit under the sycamores and by the side of
the brooks, an think and dream and pray
about the poverty of Him who came our
souls to save. But you and | will probably
be denied that, and SO here, in another conti-
nent and i'll another hemisphere, and in scenes
as different as possible, we recount as well
as we may how poor our heavenly Prince be-
came. And in the other holy land above we
may all study the riches that He left behind
when He started for His earthly expedition.
Come, let us bargain to meet each other at
the door of the Fathers mansion, or on the
bank of the river just where it rolls from
Jesus got the contrast by exchanging that
world for this; we will get it by exchanging
this world for that There and then you will
understand more of the wonders of the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ who, though he
was rich, yet for your sakes became poor"
Yes grace, free grace, sovereign grace,
omnipotent grace. Among the thousands Of
words of the language there is no more queen
ly word. 1t means free and unmerited kind
ness. My text has no monopoly Of the word.
One hundred and twenty-nne times does the
Bible eulogize grace. 1t is a door swung wide
open to let into the pardon Of God all the
millions who choose to enter it,
John Newton sang of it when he wrote:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved wretch like mel
Philip Doddrdge put it into hymnology
when he wrote:
Grace tits a charming sound,
Harmonious TO the ear;
Heaven with the e hO shlll resound
And all the world shall hear.
One of John Bunyan's great books is en-
TITLED "Abounding Grace" st is all of grace
that am saved has been on the lips of hun
dreds of dying Christians. The boy Sammy
was right when, being examined for admis-
sion into church membership, he was Asked
Whose work was your salyationi" and he
answered: part mine and part Gods. Then
the examiner asked: "What part did you do,
Sammy and the answer was: 81 opposed
God all could, and he did the restn Oh.
the height of it. the depth of it, the length of
it, the breadth of 1.-THE grace OF Coil Mr..
Fletcher having written a pamphlet that
pleased the KIM, the King offered to compen-
safe him. and Fletcher answered: There is
only one thing / want and that is more
grace Yes, my blood bought hearers, grace
to live by, grace to die by Grace that
saved the publican, that saved LYDIA that
saved the dying thief, that saved the jailer,
that saved me. But the riches of that grace
will not be fully understood until heaven
breaks in upon the soul An old Scotch
man, who had been soldier in one of the
European wars, was sick and dying in one
of our American hospitals. His one desire
was to see Scotland and his old home.
and once again walk the heather OF
the Highlands, and hear the bagpipes
of the Scotch regiments. The night that the
old Scotch soldier died young man, some
what reckless but kind hearted |. got a COM
pany OF musicians to come and play unter
the old soldiers window, and among the III
strumentS there was bagpipe. The instant
that the musicians began The diving old man
in delirium said: whats that. what's that.
why, its the regiment coming home. That's
the tune; yes, that's the tune Thank Col, |
have got home once morei' "Bonny Scotland
and Bonny Doom" We're the last words he ut
tered as he passed up to the highlands OF the
better country. And there are here to day
hundreds homesick for heaven some beau e
you have so many bereavementS, some be-
cause you have SO many temptations, some
because you have so many ailments; no ne
sick, very homeS.ck for the fatherIand of
heaven, and the music that you want to hear
now is the song o free grace, AMI the m Isl.
yoI want to hear when you die is free grace,
and forever before the throne of Col you
will sing OF the grace of or Lord Jesus
Christ who ttoIJyl ha Ip,
sakes became poor"
Yes, yes; for your sakes. 1t was not on a
pleasure excursion that he came, for it was
all pain. 1t was not on astronomical eyplor-
alton, for he knew this worli as well before
he alighted as afterward 1t was not because
he was compelled to come, for he volunteered.
1t was not because it was easy, for he knew
that it would be thorn, and spike, and hun.
ger, and thirst, and vociferation OF angry
mobs. For your hakesI Wipe away Your
ears. To forgive your wrong-doing to com
pan1onsnIp your loneliness to soothe your
sorrows, to sit with you by the new-made
grave, to bind up your wounds in the ugly
battle with the world and bring you home at
last, kindling up the mists that fall on your
dying vision with the sunlight of a glorious
morn. For your sakes! No, | will change
that Paul will not care, and Christ will not
care if l change it, for l must get into the
bessedness of the text myself, and so | say:
tatious, and bereavements, and conflicts.
For our sakes We,who deservefor our sins
to be expatriated into world as much poorer
than this earth as this earth is poorer than
heaven For our sakeS !
But what a fruitful coming down to take
us glorionsly up. When Artaxerxes was
hunting, Tirebazus, who was attending him,
showed the King rent in his garment The
King said: "How shall mend it?' by Civ
ing it to me,n said Tirehazus. Then the King
gave him the robe but commanded him never
to wear it, as it would be Inappropriate See
the startling and comforting fact, while our
Prince throws off the habit he not only al
lows us to wear it, but commands us to wear
It, and it will become us well, and for the pow
critics of our spiritual state we may put on
the splendors Of heavenly regalement For
our sakesl Oh, the personality of this re-
ligion! Not an abstraction, not an
arch under which we walk to behold elabo-
rate masonry, not an ice castle like that
which Empress Elizabeth, of Russia, over
100 years ago ordered constructed, winter
with its trowel of crystal cementing the huge
blocks that had been quarried from the
frozen rivers of the north, but a fathers
house with wide hearth cracking hearty
welcome A region of warmth and inspira-
ton, and light, and cheer, something we
can take into our hearts, and homes, and bust
ness, recreations, and joys and sorrows
Not an unmanageable gift like the galley
l u =